Customer Stories
How Hoylu digitized construction planning for EllisDon
est. 1951
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
General contractor
Hoylu Value
Reliable documentation
Improved Planning
Stronger communication
EllisDon is an employee-owned, $5 billion-a-year global construction services company. With over 5,000 salaried and hourly employees across fifteen national and international offices, EllisDon has become a leader in every sector and nearly every facet of the construction industry.
Introduction
Sticky notes and whiteboards were once the go-to tools for construction planning. Whiteboards provided a clear visual representation of projects, and sticky notes made it easy to assign tasks and move them around the board.
But today, many in the construction industry are turning to digital tools to plan and manage complex projects in a more innovative way. This includes Canadian construction company EllisDon, which invested in Hoylu’s easy-to-use, cloud-based planning software.
Digital pull planning was introduced to this EllisDon project team during the coronavirus pandemic. The company initially used a visual collaboration platform, but superintendent Ben Quintin found it cumbersome and hard to use. Quintin searched for other options and reached out to Hoylu for implementation on the Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH) Redevelopment in New Westminster, British Columbia.
The $1.2-billion project includes phases of redevelopment, new construction, and expansion. The project is complex and requires high levels of planning and coordination. The use of Hoylu is helping the team work more efficiently and effectively.
But today, many in the construction industry are turning to digital tools to plan and manage complex projects in a more innovative way. This includes Canadian construction company EllisDon, which invested in Hoylu’s easy-to-use, cloud-based planning software.
Digital pull planning was introduced to this EllisDon project team during the coronavirus pandemic. The company initially used a visual collaboration platform, but superintendent Ben Quintin found it cumbersome and hard to use. Quintin searched for other options and reached out to Hoylu for implementation on the Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH) Redevelopment in New Westminster, British Columbia.
The $1.2-billion project includes phases of redevelopment, new construction, and expansion. The project is complex and requires high levels of planning and coordination. The use of Hoylu is helping the team work more efficiently and effectively.
"Overall, we’ve been very happy with Hoylu. It’s helped us to improve our planning and communication, and it’s made our projects more efficient. We would definitely recommend Hoylu to other construction companies.”
Ben Quintin
Superintendent, EllisDon
Challenge
One of the project’s key challenges is keeping the hospital operational during construction. EllisDon is using several innovative construction techniques to help ensure the project is completed on time, within budget, and with minimal disruption to patients and staff.
Other challenges include:
Other challenges include:
- A tight timeline and a jobsite located in a busy urban environment.
- Project complexity that requires a high level of coordination.
- Multiple stakeholders who need to be kept informed of the project’s progress.
Solution
The EllisDon RCH project team has been using Hoylu for over a year. The team started small by creating a pull plan for the interior concrete structure. They now have pull plans for each floor—over 20 in total that are managed by multiple superintendents.
The transition from face-to-face meetings and sticky notes to digital planning using Hoylu came with a bit of a learning curve. There was some resistance at first, but once the team got comfortable with it, they saw the value.
“We’re now able to guide and coach new users on how to use Hoylu effectively,” says Quintin. “And we developed a standard EllisDon way of using Hoylu. We’ve learned a lot as we’ve gone along, and we’re now sharing our knowledge with other projects. We’re even hosting visits to our sites so that other teams can see how we use Hoylu.”
The transition from face-to-face meetings and sticky notes to digital planning using Hoylu came with a bit of a learning curve. There was some resistance at first, but once the team got comfortable with it, they saw the value.
“We’re now able to guide and coach new users on how to use Hoylu effectively,” says Quintin. “And we developed a standard EllisDon way of using Hoylu. We’ve learned a lot as we’ve gone along, and we’re now sharing our knowledge with other projects. We’re even hosting visits to our sites so that other teams can see how we use Hoylu.”
“One of the biggest benefits of Hoylu is that it has helped improve communication with the trades. In the past, we would use sticky notes to track our progress. This was a time-consuming and inefficient process. With Hoylu, we can easily share information with the trades, and they can see what we’re working on in real time. This has helped to improve collaboration and coordination on our projects.”
Ben Quintin
Superintendent, EllisDon
Results
Hoylu is helping the EllisDon RCH project team work more innovatively and collaboratively by providing a central platform for planning and sharing project data. This has led to increased productivity and improved decision making.
- Enhanced collaboration: Hoylu allows everyone involved in the project to share information and ideas in real time, which has led to a more collaborative and innovative approach to construction.
- Greater visualization: Hoylu has helped the EllisDon RCH project team to visualize the project more effectively, which has enabled them to identify potential problems and solutions before they arise. This results in a more efficient and cost-effective construction process.
- Better reporting: Hoylu provides the project team with real-time updates on the project’s plan, schedule, and performance. This has helped them to stay on track and avoid costly delays.
- Reduced need for rework: Hoylu allows the project team to identify potential problems and solutions before they arise, which has prevented costly rework.
- Time savings: Hoylu allows the team to optimize their planning and minimize delays.
- Automated documentation: Hoylu helps the EllisDon RCH team eliminate the need to manually track and update documentation, which can lead to errors.
“We have almost 80 people on staff here, and I think 50% of them are somehow involved with using Hoylu. So even if one person saves an hour a week over the course of a year, it speaks volumes.
I also try to picture all these sticky note boards that we would need to have all over the job for thirteen to fourteen floors altogether. Where would we put all these boards? We wouldn’t have the wall space.”
I also try to picture all these sticky note boards that we would need to have all over the job for thirteen to fourteen floors altogether. Where would we put all these boards? We wouldn’t have the wall space.”
Ben Quintin
Superintendent, EllisDon
About Hoylu
Our platform offers you and your team the power of unified planning with an intuitive solution that combines feature-rich whiteboarding, planning, and task management. Plan, engage, and visualize your projects with best-in-class usability and integrations. Bring your best ideas together with your best data across disparate teams and solutions for unified, unlimited, unbeatable project planning.